Ribbon-controlling mechanism for adding-machines.



PATBNTED MAY 5, 1908. P. WETMORE & F. A. NIEMANN. RIBBON CONTROLLINGMECHANISM FOR ADDING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1907.

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w W7 Emu PATENTED MAY 5, 1908.

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APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1907.

0. P. WETMORE M. NIEMANNJ @TAN CHARLES P. WETMORE AND FREDERICK A.NIEMANN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS O ('OMPTOGRAPII COMPANY, OFCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

RIBBON-CONTROLLING- MECHANISM FOR ADDING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 5, 1908.

Application filed May 4, 1907. Serial no. 371,827.,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES P. WET- Mom: and FREDERICK A. NIEMANN,citizens of the United States, residing in Chicago, in

.- the county of Cook and State of Illinois,

have invented a new anduseful Improve- -ment in Ribbon-ControllingMechanism for specification.

This invention relates to the ribbon controlling mechanism of recordingadding machines and more especially to that portion of the mechanism bywhich the direction of the feed of the ribbon is changed whenever theAdding-Machines, of which the following is a end of the ribbon isreached upon the spool Fig. 4 is a side elevation and Fig. 5 is a detailsection. k

' In said drawing, 6, 6 represent the side frame pieces of the machineand -7 is a horizontal bed supported by said pieces. Mounted upon pivots8 and 9 respectively are the ribbon spools 10 and '11. The ribbon 12 isshown in Fig. l as havingbeen wound upon spool 11 from spool 10. Thepivots 8 and 9 have their bearings in said bed iece 7, and

13 and 14 are spring actuatec arms, the

points of which bear against the ribbon on the spools with a constantpressure. The hub of each spool is cut away as at 15 to allow the pointsof the arms 13 and 14 to move toward the axis of their respective spoolswhen the ribbon becomes unwound therefrom, so as to uncover the cut awayspace as lainly appears in the case of the arm 13 and spool 10. Thisinward movement of arms'13 and 14, sets in motion means whereby theempty spool will be reversed in the direction of its movement, andpositively actuated so that it will act to draw the ribbon back uponitself. The ribbon in moving from one spool to the other in front of thetype segments 16 mounted on the ends of arms 17 in the manner nowpracticed in the comptcgraph ma- ?fzn-ss. The arms 13 and 14 are pi'onded with vertical ivots 18 supplorted in said piece 7, and at t e lowerends t ese pivots are split and each receives the end of one of thehorizontal levers 19,20 and a holding nut 21 The levers 19 and 20 arejoined by a spring 22, Whose tension is exerted in drawing the leverstogether and furnishes the epower by which the arms 13 and 14 arefforcto enter the cut away '5 aces in the spool hubs.v 'Transverselyof't 1emachine and supported inbearings formed in the bed piece. 7 IS a rockshaft 23, having a crank 24 by which it is actuated at each printingoperation 'of the machine through the medium of the cam 25 and link26'oined to the crank 24. The cam is actuated y the main lever of themachine in the manner customary in said comptograph machines, but othersuitablemechanism may be substituted for it, and for the crank and linkif desired.

'Mounted u on the shaft 23 is a flat metal stop piece 27, aving severalright angle bends as seen at Fig, 2, openings being formed in the bentportions through which the shaft may be passed. Upontwo of the rightangle portions are formed stops 28 and 29, one of which is engaged atproper times by the lever 19 and the other at alternating times by thelever 20. Normally the stop piece rocks with shaft 23, as the shaftcarries two cranks 30 and 31 rigid with it, one at each end, and havingpawls 32 and 33 pivoted to them, and said pawls carry pins and 41 whichalternately engage the arms 38 and 39 rigid with the stop piece, andthereby cause the frame to move with the shaft. The engagement justreferred to is broken and a new engage 'ment immediately effected by theother pin and arm each time either of the ribbon con trolled arms 13 or14 is allowed to operate,

as will be understood. The awls 32 and.33

35 on the axes I actuate ratchet wheels 34 an 8 and 9 res ectively ofthe ribbon spools each pawl eing drawn by an individua spring 36 and 37toward its ratchet wheel, and both pawls being controlled as to theirengagement with \the Wheels by arms 38 and 39, and the laterallyprojecting pins 40 and 41 which are located upon the plvoted ends of thepawls. Thus arm 38 engages the pin 40 when the pawl 32 should be idleand overcomes the spring 36 and lifts the awl so it cannot en a e 11116wheel 34, an holds it raised until the arm releases the pin by mov- 1 fmg oil the same when the time arrives for the formed on one side, whenthe awl to resume actuation of its wheel, therey allowing the spring toact upon and depress the pawl into its acting osition. In a similarmanner the arm 39, W ich has a hook awl 33 of Wheel 35 should be idle,engages t e pin il of said pawl and thereby overcomes the spring 37 andholds the pawl above its acting position until its turn arrives forresuming actua-, tion, when the arm moves out of engagement, with pin 41and allows the pawl to resume operations.

The changes in osition of the arms 38 and 39 are due to the evers 19 and20, which act alternately to lock the stop iece 27 against rocking withthe shaft 23,. uring the short time the arms 13 and 14 areentered in thecut away space of the spool hubs. It will be noticed that lever 19 isshort as compared with lever '20 and that it will move in front of stop28 when arm 13 enters its s 001 hub, and thereby arrest the rocking of te stop piece in one direction. This arrest causes the pin 40 whichcontinues to move with the shaft to move from under its 'coacting arm38, leaving the pawl 32 free to engage its wheeL The arrest of the stopiece also causes the entrance ofpin 41 into t e hook of arm 39 so i thatthe pawl 33 will then be held out of action. The ribbon will now bedrawn from "spool 11 onto spool 10. When the ribbon befcarried onto itshas all been wound onto spool 10, the ,lever 14 of s 001 11 will enterthe cut out side of the I hub .0 that spool, and move lever 20 so thatits hooked endwill catch stop-29 and hold the sto piece againstrocking'in one direction, (t e reverse of the direction of the ar-' resteffected by lever 19) thereby freeing the pin 41 from arm 39, andallowing pawl 33 to resume its actuating of wheel. 35. By, the samearrest of the stop piece, the arm 38 will pin 40 so as to hold pawl 32out of action. lhe' ribbon will now move from spool 10 to spool 11; andsubse uent o eratlons are mere repetitions of ese.

e arms 13 and 14 remain'in thecut out sides of the spool hubs onlymomentarily and are forced out by the inclined end of the cuts.

1. Thecombination with the spools and their actuatin devices, of springarms bearing on the rib on, anda'rocking stop piece or frame connectedto said actuating de vices, and means whereby said spring arms may causethe momentary arrest of 538ml stop use,

' 5. The combination with the ribbon.

piece and cause it to throw the actuating,

devices of one spool out of action and those of the other lntoactlon.

2. The combination with the spools and devices, of spring arms bearingon the ribbon, arocking stop' piece, or

frame receivingvmotion from the source 'of power of the machine,meanswhereby said arms may momentarilyarrest said rocking stop piece,and tripping devices between said stop piece and ear spool actuatingdevices adapted to throw the actuating devices of' one spool into actionand those of the other spool out of action whenever the stop piece isarrested. v v

4. The combination'with having their hubs recessed, and springpressedarms riding on the ribbon upon the spools, -'of a rocking shaftactuated at each printing operation and servin to actuate the spools, astop piece mounts on said shaft and normally rocking with said shaft,levers for arresting the rocking of the stop piece whenever either ofsaid arms enters the re cessed hub of the spool on which it. bears, andmechanism controlled by said sto piece and serving to carry power fromsaid s aft to the. spools 7 spools the ribbon spools having recessedhubs, and -s ring ressed arms riding on the ribbon, o a roc shaftactuated at each printingX operation, a stop piece mounted on said s and,normclly rocking therewith, means for arresting said stop piecewhenever either arm. enters the recess ofits corresponding hub, andmechanism whereby the spools are actuated from the rock, shaft, saidmechanism being controlled by said sto iece.

CHARIPE P. WETMOREL FREDERICK A. NIEMANN. Witnesses: H. A. LEARN, L. J.OTTEN.

